“Everyone does their best” is a notion I had a hard time buying into. But experience has sold me.

Once I learned the next phrase, it all became clear: “in accordance with their present level of awareness.”

Everyone does their best in accordance with their present level of awareness. But if you use this concept to defend your subpar actions, you miss the point and will consistently disappoint.

For example, if you are continually late for just about everything, you can claim you “did your best” and that would be an accurate statement. But it doesn’t solve the problem; it only attempts to justify your actions and reveals your lack of awareness.

The key to outgrowing making excuses is to become more aware. That means becoming aware of your actions while they are going on, not after the fact. Becoming aware will have you do better than your best.

When you catch yourself about to do what you always do, that’s the interruption that will have you outgrow your “best.” This interruption creates a space in your thinking. It’s in that space that better appears.

It seems counterintuitive to say that better is “better than best.” But you’ll find your better self when you become aware of your robotic actions and interrupt your best-laid plans.

“I did my best” does not pass the sniff test, awareness does. Increasing your awareness of how you react will keep you from being tardy for the better party.